Showing posts with label downtown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label downtown. Show all posts
Opportunity to Remake a City's Image
There has been a flurry of developments for St. Pete - approvals for 3 apartment developments downtown, the possibility of top chef restaurants at the complex formerly known as BayWalk, and negotiations for a Sylvia's at the Manhattan Casino building moving forward. Of particular interest is BayWalk and Manhattan Casino happenings, which if they come to fruition, would be significant coups for "little 'ol" St. Pete.
However, the projects which would have the greatest impact on the image of the city seem to be floundering with the current leadership. These are the new Pier, and new stadium for the Rays. Leadership appears to be buckling under the pressure of some residents that want to save the current Pier, but may not be fully aware of the costs associated. And the approach to the Rays stadium has been simply to hold the team to a contract.
Both of these require stronger leadership. The Lens wasn't my pick, but it is the one chosen by the Council, and the city should move forward with the plans rather than rehash the issue through a referendum. It already took years (and lots of public input) to get to this point. And the city certainly has a great opportunity with the Rays to have a world-class facility built in the city (whether downtown or otherwise) and/or make a large tract of land available for redevelopment. A new Pier, a new Rays stadium and/or a new, shiny, mega-development in downtown St. Pete would definitely cause folks to take notice of the city, and generate quite a but of buzz, something the city and Tampa Bay as a whole could use more of. I hope our leadership steps up to the plate on these two issues.
However, the projects which would have the greatest impact on the image of the city seem to be floundering with the current leadership. These are the new Pier, and new stadium for the Rays. Leadership appears to be buckling under the pressure of some residents that want to save the current Pier, but may not be fully aware of the costs associated. And the approach to the Rays stadium has been simply to hold the team to a contract.
Both of these require stronger leadership. The Lens wasn't my pick, but it is the one chosen by the Council, and the city should move forward with the plans rather than rehash the issue through a referendum. It already took years (and lots of public input) to get to this point. And the city certainly has a great opportunity with the Rays to have a world-class facility built in the city (whether downtown or otherwise) and/or make a large tract of land available for redevelopment. A new Pier, a new Rays stadium and/or a new, shiny, mega-development in downtown St. Pete would definitely cause folks to take notice of the city, and generate quite a but of buzz, something the city and Tampa Bay as a whole could use more of. I hope our leadership steps up to the plate on these two issues.
BayWalk
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development
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downtown
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Leadership
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Lens
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Manhattan Casino
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Pier
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St. Petersburg
BRT Alternative for Tampa Bay
So, it appears HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit) is moving forward with Tampa Bay's first bus rapid transit (BRT) line, which will connect north Tampa (USF, Fowler area) with Downtown Tampa called MetroRapid. It's not as exciting as light rail, but it is progress. Thinking about how residents may be reluctant to support rail, particular the extensive network I previously proposed on a previous post, I thought about an extension of MetroRapid into Westshore and across the bay into St. Petersbug. With the expansion of I-275 in west Tampa to include a large median for future transit and the rebuilding of the northbound Howard Franklin bridge to include a transit envelope, this may be a good time to move forward with such an initiative.
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| Eagan Transit Station, Eagan, MN |
This is how it would work. The new Howard Franklin northbound would include two to four additional lanes. I propose making these tolled express lanes for carpools and accessible by buses. These lanes would continue through west Tampa in the new large median of I-275, which is purposely designed for this purpose. On the Pinellas side, it would require the construction of additional lanes on I-275 from the MLK/Ulmerton interchange to downtown St. Pete. Into south St. Pete, convert one lane of I-275 into the carpool/bus lane. The combined BRT line would connect all the major employment/activity centers in the metro area.
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| Major retail redevelopment near Brooklyn Center Transit Station, Brooklyn Center, MN |
With this BRT line, new "transit centers" would be created in north Tampa, Seminole Heights area and Westshore in Tampa along with Gateway, downtown St. Pete and 22nd Avenue S/I-275 area in St. Pete. Each would be park-and-ride centers, but also destinations of their own with restaurants, retail and multifamily housing. I good example would be the various transit centers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
The political appeal would be in the creation of carpool lanes. So it still supports our preferred method of transportation, the car. However, it provides capacity for buses to move more quickly and with a higher frequency, similar to rail. Economically, it would benefit all, in that our major employment and activity centers become more accessible (e.g. a south St. Pete resident might apply for a job in Westshore if there was the option to park and ride from 22nd Avenue S across the bridge rather than drive). I think this is a viable alternative to rail, and one worth exploring.
Downtown Retail Core
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| City Creek, Salt Lake City, UT |
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| Pacific Place, Seattle, WA |
Tropicana Field Redevelopment
So, if you live in the Tampa Bay area, you probably have seen and heard the debates about the Rays and Tropicana Field - should St. Pete put some money into building a new stadium for the Rays, should a new stadium be on the waterfront or at the current location, should the Rays continue to play in St. Petersburg or move to Tampa. Well, this is my proposal. I say give the Rays what they want - let them move to Tampa. However, in letting them go, there needs to be a plan in place for what to do with that land.
Tropicana Field property is definitely the greatest opportunity for the city of St. Petersburg to do something definitive, game changing, transformational for the city and the region as a whole. So, I have an idea, or even several ideas, of what to do with it. I will share one vision with you all.
First, leadership must be willing to let the Rays go, but at a price. Let them pay the city either the balance of the lease or the cost to demolish the stadium, whichever is greater. Use those funds to rebuild the infrastructure on the property and prepare it for its new use.
So what will be the new use? My proposal: an urban educational and research center. My proposal involves a new campus for the St. Petersburg College Health Science programs, a new facility for the University of South Florida School of Pharmacy, the new Florida A&M University College of Medicine and Dentistry, a hotel and conference center, student housing and office/research facilities for new businesses that wish to take advantage of this new hub of brain power. Yes, I know some of these institutions don't exist yet or may already exist in other locations, but we could get them to locate here to be a part of something big. Below is a zoning map of how it would all lay out on the site.
Pink = Hotel/Conference Center
Blue = St. Petersburg College Health Science Center
Orange = Florida A&M University College of Medicine and Dentistry
Green = University of South Florida School of Pharmacy
Light Green = Office/Research space for lease
Dark Green = Surface parking, lots available for future development
Purple = Student/Professional Housing
Brown = new transit hub
The goal of this is to build off one of downtown St. Pete's growing educational and research strength with the Bayboro district (USF-SP, SRI, Draper, etc.) and the hospitals (John Hopkin's All Children's, etc.) and create another center for medical and pharmaceutical education and research. This would certainly attract companies looking to be near institutes that will educate and train the workers they need, and help create a pipeline of local talent for companies already in the area that currently have to recruit from outside the region to get qualified workers. Also, it creates a continuum, in that education and research can happen here at this new district, and manufacturing can build in the Dome Industrial Park to the west. Further, this brings thousands of new jobs and even more people to downtown to support the development of additional housing and retail. Even more, it would change the image of downtown St. Pete, making education and employment just as prominent as leisure and residential.
So, this is my vision. And I am sure we will revisit this, maybe with some 3D models of what it could look like. Until then, let me know what you think!
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